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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Watercolor Birthday Cards Using Neenah Classic Crest

Neenah Classic Crest is such a reliable card stock for so many techniques. There's a reason why so many card makers and paper crafters recommend it across the board for things like stamping, Copic coloring, and even watercolor techniques - it is truly great quality.

I have a pack of 80 lb Classic Crest in Baronial Ivory cut to A2 card size, which is perfect for card making. I decided to work with the warmth of this card stock in a couple of different water-based media techniques while making some birthday cards for my personal stash to send to friends/family.

For the first background panel, I used Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors applied to a plastic cutting mat and smooshed the ivory card stock face down into the wet pigment. Once I pulled it away, I achieved a random watercolor effect soaked into the paper. I was then able to place the card stock back down and reapply the color over and over in between drying layers with my heat tool as needed.

To see how I completed this process and the rest of this tutorial step by step, be sure to catch the Youtube tutorial below:

Once I was done with the watercolor bit, I splattered some gold gouache on for added effect before gluing on the front and completing the card. I also added some chunky gold glitter embellishments.

For the second card, I used the same ivory card stock and taped a Faber Castell diagonal stripe stencil to the front so that I could scribble on a orange gel crayon and blend it right through with a baby wipe. I shifted it a little and added some red as well.

When I was done, I used a dry brush to add some Perfect Pearls (in the color Pearl) so that the watercolor stripes had a nice sheen when tilted in the light. I also fixed this with an acrylic clear coat to prevent smudging.

I added this panel to the card base, then added the card front same as before. No embellishments this time - super simple, a little more masculine, but still with lots of shine!

I hope you enjoyed this week's tutorial. Stay tuned for more ways to use white and ivory card stock this month!